Preface<br > =<br > conomics is an exciting subject---or it can be if t s taught properly.<br > "q Obviously， one of the most important purposes of an elementary eco-<br > .A.-~ nomlcs course is to get students interested<br > ~ in tile subject and this can<br > best be done by showing them how the principles of economics can enable<br > them to understand better the major economic is.sues of today. That in brief <br > is the purpose of the Fourth Edition of this book， which fbcuses on eleven<br > central policy areas: (1) Social Security (2) education， (3) the distribution of<br > income， (4) competition and antitrust policy， (5) the environment， (6) farm<br > policy， (7) GDP and economic growth， (8) fiscal policy， (9) taxation and per-<br > sonal investing， (10) lnonetary policy， and (11) international trade policy.<br > One-third of the articles included are new to this edition.<br > These policy areas play a major role in practically any elementary eco-<br > nomics course. To arouse students interest in each of these areas， this book<br > presents contrasting (or in some cases， complementary) views by leading<br > p01icymakers (like Alan Greenspan， and John Kasich)， prominent scholars<br > (like Robert Barro， Alan Blinder， Barry Bosworth， Robert Eisner， Robert<br > Hall and Alvin Rabushka， Paul Krugman， Burton Malkiel， Charles Schultze，<br > and James Tobin)， and major business executives (like Robert Lutz)， as well<br > as government advisory groups like the President s Council of Economic<br > Advisers. Each of the articles is at a level that is appropriate for die typical<br > undergraduate. The articles， many of which are based on speeches， tend to<br > be lighter in tone--and hence more palatable to students--tban many<br > odler discussions of these issues. Also， it is worth noting that these articles<br > tend to be very up-to<late.<br > In each of the eleven parts of this book， after the articles presenting dit:<br >ferent views of a particular issue， there are questions for analysis. These<br >questions， which can form the hasis tbr classroom discussion or homework<br >exercises， are meant to provide an overview of the articles and to encour-<br >age the student to relate key points in the articles to the principles of eco-<br >nomics.<br > This book was originally conceived as a supplement to Economics USA，<br >Fifth Edition， but many instructors have used it to supplement other ele-<br >mentary economics textbooks; and some have used it alone.<br > E.M.<br >.October 1997<br >